Effect of newborn bathing training with the swaddled and tub bathing methods given to primiparous pregnant women on the mother's experience, satisfaction and newborn's stress during the first bathing of the newborn at home: A mixed method study.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare the effect of two different bathing methods training given during pregnancy on the mother's experience, satisfaction and newborn's physiological and behavioral parameters during the first bathing of the newborn at home. A mixed methods research was used in this study. The groups were determined as swaddled bathing (SB) (n = 31) and tub bathing (TB) (n = 31). After training given to the groups, the first bath of the newborn in both groups was built by the mothers. The body temperature, heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiration rate, crying times, stress parameters of the newborns and mother satisfaction in both groups were evaluated. The open-ended questions were used to determine mothers' experiences. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of oxygen saturation, respiration rate, crying time, face/forehead grimacing, unrest and maternal satisfaction. Four categories and 14 subcategories made up the qualitative part of the study which includes the experiences of the mother about two different bathing methods. "The feelings and worries of the mothers about first bathing" refers to the participants in both groups how they feel during the first bathing; "Positive aspects of this method compared to other bath method" and "Negative aspects of this method compared to other bath method" refers to positive and negative aspects of different bathing methods applied to groups; "Difference between the applied bathing method and other methods" refers to differences they observed when compared to other bathing methods. The mothers in the SB group had less fear of drowning hazard and injuring the newborn, and the fear of uneasiness and the newborn slipping down from hands were more frequent in the TB group. It was determined that both bath methods reduced body temperature, the SB method decreased the stress of newborns and had a positive effect on mother satisfaction and experience.